The United States military has designated mobile robotics and autonomous vehicle systems having a high priority for future combat and warfare, and consequently there is a strong demand for more intelligent and reliable vision sensor subsystems in today's tactical vehicles. Future combat vehicles will be highly dependent upon a wide variety of robust sensor technologies both inside the vehicle (monitoring occupant presence and position) as well as external to the vehicle (monitoring vehicle orientation, relative closing velocities, and potential obstacles).
Prior art multi-camera vision systems typically used in military applications incorporate high resolution, silicon-based day-cameras, as well as infrared (EOIR) focal plane arrays. The far-infrared (FIR and LWIR) cameras typically operate in the 6 to 14 micrometer range and are usually based upon micro-bolometer devices, while the near infrared systems (NIR and SWIR) are designed for ˜850 nm to 1600 nm and use Si-photodiodes or narrow-bandgap materials. For most applications, time-critical, image computing is crucial. Moreover, imaging systems have applications that span both military and commercial applications. Studies have shown, for example, that with conventional automobiles, an extra 0.5 second of pre-collision warning time, nearly 60% of all highway accidents could be avoided altogether. For military combat vehicles, the time-critical requirements are even more demanding.
Current optical light detection and ranging (LIDAR) cameras are typically deployed along with conventional millimeter wave (mmW)-based RADAR throughout the future combat system (FCS) fleet, including applications for internal inspection, weapons targeting, boresighting, indirect driving, obstacle/enemy detection, and autonomous and semi-autonomous navigation. LIDAR cameras typically have a separate LIDAR detector since the imaging arrays have integration times that are too long for LIDAR data capture.
LIDAR systems have proven to be relatively reliable even when incorporated in low cost systems. Multifunctional LIDAR systems are capable of measuring not only distance but can be pulsed and beam multiplexed to provide triangulation and angular information about potential road obstacles and targets and about environmental and situational awareness. LIDAR imaging systems offer a number of advantages over other conventional technologies. These advantages include:                Good target discrimination and range resolution        Capability of scanning both azimuthally and vertically using electronic monopulsing techniques        Capability of imaging both near and far range objects using telescopic optics assuming a clear optical path        Fast update and sampling rate (100 MHz is typical and is limited by the carrier frequency of 25 THz (3 psec/m pulse transit time)        Good temperature stability over a relatively wide range (−50° to 80° C.)        The technology is highly developed and commercially expanding in optical communications, leading to both cost and technology windfalls.        
Consequently, there is a real market need to provide LIDAR imaging systems that provide imaging and associated positional information (e.g., velocity and/or range of another vehicle) in an expeditious and efficient manner.